Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Homemade Apple Pie

I have never made a pie - never, ever. I have always been intimidated - like there is some secret that only mothers and grandmothers pass down from generation to generation that I am not privvy to. Don't ask me why I thought that - I am crazy person - that's my usual answer.

This recipe is so easy, quick and fool proof - considering that this is the first time I have ever baked pie and that it turned out looking like this and tasting so delicious that I had 2 servings...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, flour, nutmeg and salt; mix thoroughly. Pour the spice mix over the apples and stir until the apples are coated.Line one crust in a 9 inch deep dish pie pan. Place the apples in the pie crust. Dot the apple filling evenly with butter. Fit the top crust over the apples. Press the crust down gently and cut 3 or 4 slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape while the pie bakesBake in the preheated oven 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Check the pie after the first 30 minutes of cooking: if the crust is already browned reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cover with foil to allow the apples to cook without the crust burning.

*Of course you can make your pie crust from scratch - but I was in somewhat of a hurry. The Marie Calledar's deep dish frozen pie shells are great. They are nice and deep so your filling can be sky high! Just a tip with the pie shells - set them out 15 to 20 minutes before you need to use them, they will thaw enough for the dough to be easily manipulated so you can crimp the two together (to avoid all that yumminess leaking out!)

**Stick to the 1T butter - tiny little dots will do ya - if you over do it, your filling will be soupy. You could even eliminate the butter dots altogether.